‘Sustainable oil palm production in Africa requires concerted efforts’
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture in charge of Crops, Dr Alhassan Ahmed, has said sustainable oil palm production in Africa requires concerted efforts of all stakeholders along the value chain.
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That, he said, was necessary because of the challenges that the production of oil palm posed to both beneficiary communities and the environment.
“Closing the gaps in this sector and producing oil palm sustainably will require concerted efforts from governments, regional bodies, research institutions, private financiers, investors, technocrats, you and me to ensure the proper understanding and utilisation of oil palm,” he said at the Africa Palm Oil Initiative Regional Workshop in Accra.
The concerted efforts, he explained, would ensure that oil palm was produced in a way that would protect the environment, bring benefit to communities and provide a conducive atmosphere for businesses to grow.
“Oil palm development is about our people, our livelihood, heritage, our economy and, ultimately, our legacy. We don’t owe its sustainable growth only to the over six million people whose livelihood depends on it, or the consumers all over the world but to posterity,” he said.
While lauding the organisers of the programme, he urged African countries to commit to implementing the developed guidelines at the forum to ensure that both environmental and social issues were addressed.
“As we learn from each other and share ideas, it is my hope that we not only develop but find constructive ways of supporting the implementation of a set of regional principles for responsible oil palm development that takes account of the development plans of our respective countries and Africa as a whole.”
Africa, the new frontier
The deputy minister explained that although the development of the sub-sector had slowed down over the years, research had shown that Africa presented a new opportunity for large-scale palm oil production.
“Some companies have established plantations and new investors are looking for the opportunity to expand their operations into this region to meet the growing demand for the commodity,” he said.
Despite the bright prospects, he said the production of oil palm all over the world was facing challenges environmentally, socio-culturally and economically.
An Associate Director at Proforest (a non-governmental organisation into sustainable agriculture initiatives), Mr David Hoyle, said there had been a global demand for responsible production of oil palm in Africa to reduce the numerous environmental impacts.